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Dr Gavin M Mudd Environmental Engineering

This study analyzes the sustainability metrics of uranium mining, including energy consumption, water usage, and CO2 emissions. The research examines the sensitivity of these metrics to ore grade, explores the trends in global uranium production and resources, and discusses the implications for the long-term sustainability of nuclear power.

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Dr Gavin M Mudd Environmental Engineering

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  1. Dr Gavin M MuddEnvironmental Engineering Sustainability Aspects of Uranium Mining February 2007

  2. Hiroshima, 6Aug. 1945 Bowker, 1948 Bowker, 1948 The Eternal Nuclear Debate …

  3. Uranium Mining • Re-invigoration of the nuclear debate has seen spirited exchanges over the life cycle assessments of nuclear energy versus other energy systems • A central aim of these studies is to quantify the unit CO2 emissions for nuclear vs others • Although it is generally accepted that as ore grade declines, emissions will increase – there are numerous aspects to this, eg. : • resources, ore grade & type, energy/water costs etc.

  4. Outline From Here : • Data Sources and Methodology • Analysis of Sustainability Metrics • Results – Global Uranium Production • Results – Global Uranium Resources • Results – Energy & Water Consumption • Results – Greenhouse Emissions • Discussion : Deficiencies, Future Work … • Summary

  5. Data Sources & Methodology • Surprisingly, data is readily available for production for many countries, eg. : • mining periodicals (CNRC, USBM, OECD-IAEA, …) • papers, company annual and technical reports, etc • Resources data compiled (mostly) from company annual and technical reports • Energy-Water-CO2 data is sourced from company social/environmental/ sustainability reports • Sust. data is converted to unit efficiency

  6. Analysis of Sustainability Metrics • Some key issues for sustainability include energy and water consumption and greenhouse emissions • The ‘eco-efficiency’ of various uranium mines is compared using the unit consumption (/emission) per uranium oxide produced relative to ore grade : • kL water / t U3O8 ; t CO2 / t U3O8 • GJ energy / t U3O8

  7. Uranium Ore Grade by Country

  8. Global Uranium Production Trends

  9. Uranium Resources v Time

  10. <0.5% U3O8 Uranium Deposits : Size, Grade

  11. Energy & Water v Ore Grade

  12. Greenhouse Emissions

  13. Discussion & Future Work • Uranium Resources – Finite or Not ? • clear evidence that exploration over time has continued to sustain economic resources • ore grades by country are mostly declining • despite rich Canadian ores, global average ore grade has not increased • future production will come from lower grade ores • Sustainability Metrics • unit energy/water/CO2 have been quantified, showing clear sensitivity to ore grade • however, still need to do complete I/O LCA …

  14. Summary & Conclusions • Key issues underpinning the contested sustainability of nuclear power, centred on various aspects of uranium mining • Over time, resources have been maintained but grades are mostly decling • Sustainability metrics such as energy, water & CO2 are sensitive to ore grade, and resource intensity increases as grade declines • More work needed to do complete LCA …

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